Sailing Oceans Blue
by Hylla
Summary: An unexpected situation forces the Head Captain to send Ichigo and the Shinigami on a cruise with none other than the Arrancars and other past opponents. As they set sail on an exact replica of the Titanic, chaos ensues with each group barely getting along. Will the partying, drama, and romance end up conquering all or is there something more sinister at work? YOU decide pairings!
1. Prologue

Summary:

An unexpected situation forces the Head Captain to send Ichigo and the Shinigami on a cruise with none other than the Arrancars and other past opponents. As they set sail on an exact replica of the Titanic, chaos ensues with each group barely getting along. Will the partying, drama, and romance end up conquering them all or is there something more sinister at work?

**A.N.**-Based off of Ultimate-drax's "Cruise Along" with permission. Do check it out. This fic takes place sometime after the Fullbring Arc. Enjoy!

* * *

_**"Science does not know its debt to imagination" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson**_

* * *

**Prologue**

The atmosphere in the 12th division was calm. The silence filled only by the hum of computers and a recurring bleep. Contrary to popular belief, one did not always hear screams and shrieks in the division although the occasional cry of agony was not uncommon.

Besides working under the infamous Mayuri Kurotsuchi,the job of an officer in the 12th division was actually quite mundane.

Akon spoke from experience.

After more than a century in Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the third seat had come to realize that excitement only arose when something was unusual or wrong.

Things had been quiet since the whole Fullbring fiasco.

_A little too quiet._

Akon felt a headache coming on. If something didn't happen soon, he'd start to question his sanity.

_I need more coffee_.

Just as he was about to send Rin to fetch him a cup, the alarm sounded.

Change was immediate.

Chairs screeched, keyboards clicked, and electricity filled the air - it was like all life had returned to the room.

Akon straightened up.

"Hiyosu. What seems to be the matter?"

"It appears as though we have an intruder."

"Oh." _Its just an intruder._" I wonder what poor fool it is this time. The Captain doesn't take lightly to trespassers."

He certainly did not. The last foolish person to annoy Mayuri Kurotsuchi had landed an immediate job..._as a test subject. _

But hey, a little excitement is always better than none at all. Akon was never one to complain. The last time he managed to find fault and actually complain about something was when -

Hiyosu's gasp brought him back to the present.

"Uhh, Akon. You should come check this out."

The trace of fear in his voice immediately alerted Akon. The third seat quickly strode over to the lower officer.

"What is it? Where is the intruder now?"

With panic interlacing his words, Hiyosu started. "He's in the…"

Akon's eyes widened.

"...Sector of Mysteries…"

* * *

_The Sector of Mysteries…_

The very mention of it sent shivers crawling down Akon's spine. Few knew of its existence and even fewer dared mention it.

Captain Kurotsuchi had ordered him and an elite group of researchers to build it secretly some time after Aizen's betrayal. The Captain had been in one of his moods and was muttering something about "Stupid Urahara" and "I'm the only genius here."

When Akon asked the Captain what purpose it would serve, the Captain said that, "The Sector of Mysteries will be a section of the 12 Division where I shall carry out confidential research. Using various data and samples that I have collected, many of which are from Hueco Mundo, I shall be researching various mysteries of the world such as time, love, thought, death and so on. I find them quite fascinating."

Akon had known that the true purpose was merely to show up Kisuke Urahara and so he never brought it up again.

"Hiyosu, can you pull up the security footage?"

Typing ensued. "Whaat?! Why aren't any of the cameras working."

Akon massaged his temples for a totally different reason. "Probably a glitch. Rin."

The young boy quickly swallowed the sweet he was eating. "Ahhh, yes Akon?"

"See if you and Hiyosu can find a way to fix the system."

"What will you be doing sir?"

"I will stop the intruder myself."

* * *

Akon left the room quickly and proceeded to take a multitude of turns in the maze-like hallways of the 12th Division.

His heart beating fast in his chest, Akon stopped before a plain wall.

_The secret entrance to the Sector of Mysteries._

One would never expect the gateway to the most dangerous department in the all the 12th Division to be behind such an ordinary looking wall.

Lieutenant Kusajishi of the 11th Division had taken quite a fancy to this particular type of hidden door. Rumor has it that she ordered them to be built all over the Kuchiki Manor along with many tunnels. Needless to say, Captain Kuchiki did not like them. He could never seem to find them and seal them off.

Akon placed his palm against the wall and the wall swung inwards revealing the dim interior of an elevator.

He stepped inside as the secret entryway closed and the elevator automatically began descending. After a considerable amount of time, a faint ding indicated that the elevator had reached its destination.

_I've arrived at the Sector of Mysteries._

Bracing himself, Akon stepped out.

A bright light hit his eyes and then everything went black.

* * *

**A.N:**

Bleach does not belong to me. Neither does the idea for the Sector of Mysteries. Who can guess where its from? Thank you for taking the time to try this fic. I'd love to know what you think of it. Its a bit confusing now, but this part will make sense later. ^^

Hugs,

Hylla


	2. Chapter 1

**AN:** I obviously do not own the Bleach manga or anime. This fic is based off of Ultimate-drax's "Cruise Along" with permission. Rated T since we all know our Arrancars love language ^.^

* * *

_**"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams." ~ Oprah Winfrey**_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Ichigo Kurosaki scowled irritably at the giant cruise ship before him. Somehow, he always managed to get himself caught up in the strangest of situations. This time, he was stuck going on a month long cruise..._with his worst enemies_.  
It didn't help that the ship was an exact replica of the Titanic, built by Kisuke Urahara himself. Somehow, this whole mess was related to Ichigo's _mission_. How exactly, he had no idea.

As he tilted his head to the side in annoyance, Ichigo felt something jump onto his shoulder.

"Ack, Yoruichi! What the hell?!"

"Oh please! Lighten up Ichigo." The cat woman had a wide smirk on her feline face. "A three weeks vacation across the high seas on a luxury cruiser and it's completely free. How can you complain?"

"We're going to be spending this so called _vacation_ with our _enemies_."

To make a point, the young Substitute Shinigami pointed towards Ulquiorra Schiffer who was making his way to the crowd of passengers waiting to board the luxury cruise liner. "That guy, was dead. He tried to kill me and then turned to _dust_. And now he's back all of a sudden and Gramps, strangely enough, wants me to party with him?!"

Popping up from behind, Rangiku grinned. "Look at the bright side Ichigo. You'll be stuck on a ship with beautiful, carefree women who'll be wearing next to nothing for three whole weeks."

"W-Why would I ever care about that!" The blush on the young Substitute Soul Reaper's cheeks spoke otherwise.

Turning to look at him, Orihime blinked. "Kurosaki-kun, are you feeling okay?" The concerned look on the young beauty's face turned to shock as a pale fist promptly hit him in the side.

Ichigo groaned and fell to the floor, his hands holding his aching sides while Rukia smirked. "Don't worry Orihime, he'll be alright now."

* * *

Rukia looked away from the orangette and scanned the docks they'd been waiting in for over an hour. It was a lovely area, with a quaint little cafe and various souvenir shops lining up the sidewalk as crowds encircled the few giant cruisers that were peacefully floating in the huge surrounding ocean. The deep blue waters of the ocean glimmered like millions of bright jewels in the warm and clear day.

Lifting a hand up to see clearly through all the sun, Rukia spotted a tall figure approaching. The figure grew larger and larger until it finally became Renji sauntering over, his red hair oddly unnoticeable for once in the multitude of bright colors in the crowd.

"Oye! Rukia. They're finally letting us board." Squinting at Ichigo's hunched up form, Renji frowned. "What the hell is he doing on the floor anyway?"  
"Ichigo didn't seem too happy about going, so I decided to knock some sense into him."

Renji smirked. "Hah! You're such a wuss Ichigo! You couldn't take a punch from a mere girl."

There was a flash of white and Rukia smiled sweetly as Renji crumpled to the floor.

Wiping the dust off his face, Ichigo stood up. "Now what was all that about Renji? I thought you said you could take a punch from a 'mere girl'."

Rukia looked on as Renji, standing once again, turned to face Ichigo. "Last I checked _Strawberry_, you were the one lying on the floor. You're just so whiny and you always -."

"Now now boys." scolded Rangiku as she stepped between the two. "We're here to relax and have fun. "

Orihime nodded. "Rangiku-san is right you two. Anyways, didn't you just say something about them letting us board, Abarai-kun?"

Scowling, Renji backed away from Ichigo. "Yeah. They just opened the ramp and everyone's rushing to board the _Tittyanic_."

"For your information Renji," Ichigo shouldered in, "Its the Titanic. Not ..._uh_... what you just said." "Yeah yeah. It's not my fault the World of Living has such strange names."

Rukia cleared her throat. "Shouldn't we get going now. If we waste any more time, we'll end up being the last ones on board. Let's all go to our cabins and unpack since the luggage has probably been taken to our rooms. Then we can go have a look around."

Sighing, Ichigo shrugged. "I guess you're right midget. Why don't we all meet up at the pool in twenty minutes?"

Everyone nodded.

The group set out towards the Titanic, one of the shortest members dragging a body with orange hair behind her.

* * *

Ichigo grimaced as he rubbed his head and looked around the lavishly decorated hallway. The walls were a pleasant beige decorated with intricate patterns and the lush carpet, a deep royal blue. The bright lightning from the gold chandeliers hurt his head and he had to squint to see through his already blurred vision. At this rate if Rukia kept hitting him, he'd end up with a killer migraine for the rest of the trip.

His Hollow was usually the one behind his earth-shattering headaches, but Ichigo hadn't sensed him in a while. Even Tensa was absent. It was so..._strange_.

Shrugging off the unpleasant feeling, Ichigo stopped in front his cabin. The number 156 was plastered across the door in gold lettering. Taking out a key card from his pocket, Ichigo swiped it through the scanner and opened the now unlocked door.

Ichigo stepped through and gasped in pain as he felt something jab him in the side and found himself stuck in the doorway. He was sandwiched between the door and some jackass who tried to enter the room at the same time as him.

Angrily, Ichigo turned to face the newcomer and found it to be, "Grimmjow?!"

The blue haired Arrancar turned to face his mortal enemy and snarled. "What the fuck are you doing here? This is _my_ cabin."

Checking his ticket, Ichigo frowned. "Cabin 156 on deck C?" Grimmjow nodded. ""No! Absolutely not. There is no way you and I can be sharing rooms. I refuse go on this trip with _you_ out of all the Espada as my roommate."

The Sexta Espada spread his lips in a feral grin revealing two rows of sharp teeth. "I know that. That's exactly why you'll be sleeping out in the hallway while I get the cabin."

"Forget it Grimmjow! I'm not dealing with this sort of crap. You sleep in the hallway." Struggling to get loose, Ichigo finally entered the room.

In a split second, Grimmjow tackled him and the two started fighting. Ichigo felt Grimmjow punch him on his already bruised side and in retaliation, he hit the Sexta Espada's nose. This was going to be one hell of a vacation.

* * *

Rangiku Matsumoto turned the corner and smiled. "So Hinamori, where's your cabin?"

"Well let's see," Momo held up her ticket. "I guess I have cabin B-66."

Pouting, Rangiku turned to face her friend. "Aww, my room is B-36. I really wanted to bunk with you."

Momo smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Rangiku-san. We'll still see each other around and we're even on the same deck. Anyways, I'm sure you'll get along well with your roommates."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Pointing at a sign which stated that rooms 50 and up were to their left, Rangiku sighed. "This is where we split. Now come along, Shūhei. I need to get to my cabin and unpack before sunset so I can get started on my tan."

She motioned for Hisagi, who was carrying a mountain of luggage on his back. "I'm...coming...Rangiku-san." Struggling to keep up with the Lieutenant of the 10th Division, Hisagi panted as he adjusted the weight on his back and followed.

Rangiku Matsumoto thought she was going to like the people she was sharing her cabin with. She was wrong.

When Rangiku reached her room, she happily opened the door and entered her cabin. "Hello roomies. My name is-." Seeing the group in front of her, Rangiku stopped in midsentence. It felt as though someone had just spit her in the face.

Staring back at her in shock were three female Arrancar - a large breasted brunette with wavy long hair, a slender one who had three pink dots below her right eye, and finally a black haired tomboy with oddly enough, two different colored eyes.

Apacci took in Rangiku's curvy form in the doorway and scowled. "No. Fucking. Way."

* * *

**AN: **Phew! I sincerely apologize for the late update. I'll always try to update at least once a month if not more. Its just that school was so busy with exams and everything -_- At least there's only one more week left till summer holidays ^.^

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed/favorited/followed this story. I promise the prologue is connected to the plot, though you won't be finding out who the intruder was for quite some time. The idea for the Sector of Mysteries is derived from the Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter C:

So what did you all think of the first chapter? I'll be starting out the voting for the pairings in the next chapter. Any ideas how I should go about that? Also, should I use Japanese honorifics like "Taicho" instead of "Captain"? Any other tips, suggestions, and comments would be greatly appreciated ^.^  
See y'all next time!


End file.
